Tens of thousands of Moldovans poured into the central square of the capital Chisinau on May 21, waving flags and homemade banners in support of the country’s bid to join the European Union and make a “historic break” with Moscow.
Moldova – a country of 2.6 million people, Europe’s poorest, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania – has come under increasing pressure since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted into military action last February.
With fighting raging just across the border, the government of the small Eastern European nation has called on citizens to join marches in an effort to overcome internal divisions and put pressure on Brussels to start accession talks – nearly a year after Moldova was awarded EU candidate status.
A study published in February by Chisinau-based pollster CBS Research found that while nearly 54% of Moldovans said they would vote for EU membership, nearly 25% said they wanted closer ties with Russia.
“Light at the end of the tunnel”
About 75,000 people gathered in the capital Chisinau on May 21 to support their country’s entry into the EU. Sandwiched between Ukraine, which is in direct conflict with Russia, and Romania, an EU and NATO member, Moldova fears it will find itself at the centre of a struggle between Moscow and the West.
The march opened with the Moldovan National Anthem and the EU National Anthem, after which participants chanted “Europe” and “Europe Moldova”.
“Joining the EU is the best way to protect our democracy and our institutions,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu told Politico on May 21 at her presidential palace in Chisinau as a crowd of her supporters marched outside.
Speaking alongside European Parliament (EP) President Roberta Metsola, Ms Sandu said: “I call on the EU to take a decision to start accession negotiations by the end of the year. We think we have enough support to move forward.”
People wave flags of the European Union (EU) and Moldova during a rally in support of EU membership, in Chisinau, Moldova, May 21, 2023. Photo: Al Jazeera
Moldova applied for EU membership on March 3, 2022, the same day as neighboring Ukraine, and more than a week after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine.
Just four days later, on 7 March 2022, the EU invited the EC to comment on Moldova's application and the EU heads of state and government subsequently approved the application at a meeting in Versailles.
Moldova received the questionnaire on its EU membership on 11 April 2022 and provided its answers on the political and economic criteria on 19 April 2022 and on the EU chapters on 22 April 2022 and 12 May 2022 respectively.
On 23 June 2023, Moldova was granted EU candidate country status alongside Ukraine, which Ms Sandu described at the time as “the light at the end of the tunnel”.
Last month, the EP adopted a resolution on EU accession negotiations for Moldova, stating that accession negotiations should begin by the end of this year.
Last week, Ms Sandu again called on Brussels to start accession talks “as soon as possible” to protect Moldova from what she said were growing threats from Russia.
strained relationship
In February, neighboring Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his country’s security forces had foiled a plot to overthrow Moldova’s pro-Western government. Officials in Chisinau later said the Russian-backed effort may have involved sabotage, attacks on government buildings and hostage-taking.
Moscow officially denied the claims, instead accusing Moldovan leaders of pursuing an “anti-Russian” agenda.
“Our relations with Moldova are already very tense,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in February. “The country’s leadership is always focused on everything anti-Russian, they are in a state of anti-Russian hysteria.”
Earlier, Moldova's parliament voted to approve a new pro-Western government after the previous administration resigned en masse following months of political and economic scandals. The new government, led by Prime Minister Dorin Recean, has vowed to pursue a pro-European path and called for the demilitarization of Transnistria (Transdniestria), a Moscow-backed separatist region bordering Ukraine.
Map showing the breakaway region of Transnistria - a narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Photo: GIS Report
“Despite previous efforts to remain neutral, Moldova finds itself in the Kremlin’s crosshairs – whether it likes it or not, it is part of the broader conflict in Ukraine,” said Arnold Dupuy, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council.
Responding to the coup attempt, which Moldova blamed on Russia, Brussels announced last month that it would deploy a civilian mission to Moldova to counter the growing threat. The deployment, under the terms of the Common Security and Defense Policy, will provide “support to Moldova to protect its security, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” according to Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat.
Almost entirely dependent on Russia for its energy needs, Moldova has seen gas costs skyrocket. Coupled with the influx of Ukrainian refugees, the World Bank said Moldova’s GDP would contract by 5.9% and inflation would average 28.7% by 2022.
“We will buy energy resources from democratic countries, and we will not support Russian aggression in exchange for cheap gas,” President Sandu told Politico .
Minh Duc (According to Politico.eu, Euronews)
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